Investigation of Fundamental Seed Features of Three Okinawa Local Soybean (Glycine max) Varieties

Abstract

In this study, we cultivated three local Okinawa varieties (O-higu, Taka-anda, Hiku-anda) of soybean (Glycine max), investigated their seed properties, and compared these with those of other soybean varieties that are cultivated or imported for commercial use in Japan. Based on the results, we describe the following component characteristics of the local soybean varieties in Okinawa: 1) The seed size of all Okinawa local soybean varieties was smaller than that of other varieties; 2) The Okinawa local soybean varieties (and O-higu in particular) had a relatively high protein content; 3) O-higu contained a relatively high level of oligosaccharides compared to the other varieties; 4) Okinawa local varieties also had a low ω6/ω3 value compared to the other varieties, and the ω6/ω3 value of the Taka-anda was significantly lower than that of all Japanese and imported varieties; 5) Within local Okinawa varieties, the isoflavone content of Taka-anda was the highest. In contrast, the content of isoflavone in O-higu was lower than that of other local Okinawa varieties; 6) Local Okinawa varieties contained higher levels of phytic-phosphorus than the imported varieties.